Compelling card game where you build your deck as you go (think Dominion, Ascension and the like) combined with some roguelike elements, namely randomization and permadeath.

I think it's a better deckbuilder than roguelike, because you'll rapidly have seen most of the random events and monsters you can encounter (barring some rare ones). The gameplay is riveting, but I find that the first few fights tend to be very similar between runs, unless you get some very special starting modifier.

In a great move, it doesn't have too much permanent unlock power creep: you do unlock a few cards and relics for future runs, but they are not blatantly more powerful, they just add more variety. This means you have a fair shot at beating the game on your first attempt, unlike some roguelites where grinding is mandatory to have any chance of beating later levels, and where the beginning of the game becomes trivial and boring once you've leveled up your power enough. Here the balance is great with challenge throughout.

This is a game that will require you to think on the fly and to readapt your mindset when you notice that the decks you are building are not working. Be prepared to try new things, even the counter-intuitive ones! A good base principle to work from is that any card you add to your deck makes every good card you already have worse, because you have less chance to draw it. So you wanna keep your deck small, but what if you can get a lot of card draw? It might make a big deck work, and suddenly curses don't sound so bad because they're so diluted in the amount of cards you have. Choices, choices...

Compelling card game where you build your deck as you go (think Dominion, Ascension and the like) combined with some roguelike elements, namely randomization and permadeath. I think it's a better deckbuilder than roguelike, because you'll rapidly have seen most of the random events and monsters you can encounter (barring some rare ones). The gameplay is riveting, but I find that the first few fights tend to be very similar between runs, unless you get some very special starting modifier. In a great move, it doesn't have too much permanent unlock power creep: you do unlock a few cards and relics for future runs, but they are not blatantly more powerful, they just add more variety. This means you have a fair shot at beating the game on your first attempt, unlike some roguelites where grinding is mandatory to have any chance of beating later levels, and where the beginning of the game becomes trivial and boring once you've leveled up your power enough. Here the balance is great with challenge throughout. This is a game that will require you to think on the fly and to readapt your mindset when you notice that the decks you are building are not working. Be prepared to try new things, even the counter-intuitive ones! A good base principle to work from is that any card you add to your deck makes every good card you already have worse, because you have less chance to draw it. So you wanna keep your deck small, but what if you can get a lot of card draw? It might make a big deck work, and suddenly curses don't sound so bad because they're so diluted in the amount of cards you have. Choices, choices...